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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · can · kid · fall · tear · kick

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. fall — the season
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. can — a tin
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kick — in football
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — to roll

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com